34o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY. 



By HEEBEKT SPENCEE. 

 XII. The TJieological Bias. 



' ' "TTTHAT a log for hell-fire ! " exclaimed a Wahabee, on see- 

 VV ing a corpulent Hindoo. This illustration, startling by its 

 strength of expression, which Mr. Gifford Palgrave gives ' of the be- 

 lief possessing these Mohammedan fanatics, prepares us for their gen- 

 eral mode of thinking about God and man. Here is a sample of it : 



" "When 'Abd-el-Lateef, a "Wahabee, was preaching one day to the people 

 of Riad, he recounted the tradition according to which Mahomet declared that 

 his followers should divide into seventy-three sects, and that seventy-two were 

 destined to hell-fire, and one only to Paradise. ' And what, O messenger of 

 God, are the signs of that happy sect to which is insured the exclusive posses- 

 sion of Paradise ? ' Whereto Mahomet had replied, ' It is those who shall he in 

 all conformable to myself and to my companions.' ' And that," added 'Abd-el- 

 Lateef, lowering his voice to the deep tone of conviction, ' that, by the mercy 

 of God, are we, the people of Riad.' " a 



For present purposes we are not so much concerned to observe the 

 parallelism between this conception and the conceptions that have 

 been, and are, current among sects of Christians, as to observe the 

 effects produced by such conceptions on men's views of those who 

 have alien beliefs, and on the views they are led to form of alien socie- 

 ties. "What extreme misinterpretations of social facts result from 

 the theological bias may be seen still better, in a case even more re- 

 markable. 



By Turner, by Erskiue, and by the members of the United States 

 Exploring Expedition, the characters of the Samoans are, as compared 

 with the characters of the uncivilized generally, very favorably de- 

 scribed. Though, in common with savages at large, they are said to 

 be " indolent, covetous, fickle, and deceitful," yet they are also said to 

 be " kind, good-humored, . . . desirous of pleasing, and very hospita- 

 ble. Both sexes show great regard and love for their children;" and 

 age is much respected. " A man cannot bear to be called stingy or 

 disobliging." The women " are remarkably domestic and virtuous." 

 Infanticide after birth is unknown in Samoa. " The treatment of the 

 sick was . . . invariably humane and all that could be expected." 

 Observe, next, what is said of their cannibal neighbors, the Fijians. 

 They are indifferent to human life ; they live in perpetual dread of one 

 another ; and, according to Jackson, treachery is considered by them 

 an accomplishment. " Shedding of blood is to him" (the Fijian) "no 



1 "Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia," vol. ii., p. 370. 



2 Ibid., vol. ii., p. 22. 



